A New Frontier: Into the Storm
by ThrashMetallix
Summary: After an unexplainable phenomena strands two UNSC ships 75,000 light years from home, and almost 50 years into the past,they find themselves right in the middle of a war between humans they never knew even existed, and two alien races they've never before encountered. Now they must not only try and adapt, but must also find a way back home... (A rewrite in progress!)
1. Unexplainable Phenomena

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I have not forgotten about this story. Before I go on, I would like to thank each and everyone of you if you read and or reviewed any part of my last attempt at this. And would like to apologize to everyone that my intelligence of the Halo universe was so poor. Well, life got in the way of writing this, and it gave me time to buy the games, read a bit more of the novels, and think a bit more about how to write this story. And now I am reattempting again, with a few more ideas in place. And hopefully, more justice to the Halo universe and Halo fans reading this.

I always appreciate feedback, whether it's good or critical, and I do my best to get back to you. I respond to reviews via PM so you gotta make sure your inbox is open. Otherwise I may not reply at all.

Now I hope you are all patient with me as I write this. Life is still very much in the way, and we all know how much of a bitch life can be. But I hope you enjoy the second attempt at my Halo/StarCraft mashup. I hope that these new ideas enhance the reading enjoyment and experience. Thank you all once again. Drive on.

-SM

UPDATE: I don't know if anyone will see the similarities between this story and PeteSkizzle's StarCraft II: Forward Unto Dawn or perhaps any other stories, but these are going to be different stories (primary example is his use of Master Chief, and that I will not use Master Chief). Our stories may have very similar concepts (time travel), but I do hope people lay off the accusations of copying as I came up with this story over two years ago, and have just not had the time to work on it. I support the mind of PeteSkizzle and hope he continues with his story, and think it rather amusing we have similar minds.

* * *

**0629 Hours, August 30 2552**

**UNSC Hammer, Orbit of Reach**

The ship rocked under Covanent Fire. Captain David Anselmo regained composure of himself quickly, then called out, "Status!"

His helmsman Eric Connor, or at least he would have been helmsman if the ships AI wasn't doing the piloting right now, got up from the ground and returned to his seat dashing through screens and monitors. "We have a massive hull breach on the starboard side. Sealing off the affected decks. Getting casualty calculations."

"Weapons?" Anselmo called.

"MACs one and two are both offline." The ship's AI, Toran replied. "Missile systems armed, but with the ship's damage as it is, it's only a matter of time before those systems aren't fully functional.

_"Shit..."_ Anselmo thought as he sank into his seat. He looked up to the viewing screen. Reach was in the process of becoming an uninhabitable world of fire and glass. The Covanent glassing had begun a few days ago, and it wouldn't be too long before the planet fell. Deep down, each soldier knew as soon as the Covanent found Reach, time would tick before it fell. Almost like it was inevitable. So much for the Fortress Among the Stars...

"Orders, sir?" Toran asked.

Anselmo wished it didn't come to this, but the ship was almost as good as dead. He did not wish to leave it, especially after so recently getting issued command over it. The _Hammer_ was Destroyer class, and a formidable ship in this class it was. Though new to the fleet, it had already seen combat and faired rather well. But every soldier knew that no ship won the war. Every ship at some point, had to sink.

Toran repeated himself, "Sir, your orders?"

Anselmo nodded. "Prepare to abandon ship. We've done all we can..."

"Understood." Toran said

Anselmo readied himself to make the announcement, when suddenly a bright flash filled up the bridge, and distracted him, and everyone else on the bridge. People fell to the ground, temporarily blinded, and crawled trying to reacquaint themselves with the environment. At first Anselmo thought something had exploded, but there was distortion that followed. A very strange happening, one he had not experienced before. As the flash disappeared, Anselmo looked to the AI and said, "That wasn't an explosion, what the hell just happened?"

Toran sounded uneasy and alert, which for an AI, wasn't exactly a good thing. "Sir, I am picking up readings of a buildup of energy on a massive scale..."

"Care to elaborate?" Anselmo asked. "What kind of energy are we talking about here?"

"That's just it sir," Toran replied. "I don't know. And- hang on. Sir, I am picking up a strong gravitational reading very close by, and it is pull-llin-pull-pu-"

Toran never finished as the ship's bridge suddenly lit up with color and light. Something strange was happening. The ship lurched as if it were being pulled at the speed of light. Anselmo heard the hull straining and felt it shaking violently. But after a few seconds, everything calmed. The systems went offline, but came back after a few seconds. The AI fluttered back to life. Anselmo looked up. The ship was drifting, no longer functioning. "Toran, what just happened?"

"To be perfectly honest, captain, I have no idea."

"Wonderful." Anselmo said. "Please find out and be snappy about it. What's the status on the ship?"

Eric turned and spoke up, "Whatever just happened, it has crippled the ship. Engines, weapons and a good amount of our sensors and communications are offline."

"Life Support?" Anselmo asked.

"Damaged, but holding." Connor said.

Anselmo nodded and as the crew on the bridge scrambled to get the ship back online, Anselmo took a look out the bridge viewing screen. Into deep space...

Wait...

Where was Reach? And as a matter of fact, where was the battle?

Toran's voice shook away that thought. "Sir, something is very wrong. Navigation systems are coming back online, and I am receiving a calculation of our current position. I'm not finding any known location near our position at all. In fact, providing this reading is accurate at all, we're over 75,000 light years from our last location."

The bridge went silent. Anselmo took one look at his AI. "That's not possible."

75,000 light years? No human had ever gone so far into the galaxy before! And there was a reason. They lacked the capability of coming out this far...didn't they?

"We didn't slipspace jump out here did we?" Anselmo asked.

"You didn't order a slipspace jump, sir. None were conducted."

One of the crewman, a Lieutenant by the name of Tringle Dodson, spoke up. "Captain, I am picking up another ship."

Anselmo looked to her. "Is it one of them? Covanent?"

Dodson shook her head. "Negative sir. One of ours. It's the _Redwall_, sir."

The _Redwall_. That brought some comfort and relief to Anselmo's mind. The Redwall was a Marathon class cruiser, which meant there was likely one of high importance commanding her. And though Anselmo doubted it, perhaps they had some clue as to what had happened.

Toran spoke up. "The ship is still damaged much too severely, but I can establish ship to ship communications."

"If you could establish that, Toran, that would be great. Also is there anything about our current position that should be known?"

Toran replied, "We are currently in orbit of a desert planet. I have no record of it, but there is a sister planet nearby as well."

"Any life readings on the surface?" Anselmo asked.

"Tons. I am unable to detect exactly what but there are plenty of life readings." Toran paused, then replied, "I've established a communication to the _Redwall_, sir. She's damaged pretty bad too, so I cant get you more than a standard audio communication."

"Put us through." Anselmo said. Toran did so, and Anselmo went though to say, "This is the UNSC _Hammer_, to the _Redwall_, anyone copy?"

There was some static, beforea female voice came through, "This is Admiral Jenway of the Redwall, to whom am I speaking with?"

"Captain David, A. Anselmo, ma'am. Service Number 00784-19874-DA. My ship is critically damaged, but holding. Do you happen to know what just happened?"

"No, Captain. We're not in the best shape ourselves here, but our AI is trying to piece together some of the puzzle."

"I wish we could be of some help, but we're up to our necks in this mess as well. FOr now my primary focus is making necessary repairs to the ship. When that will be, Heaven only knows."

"If I may, sir," Toran interjected, "I would suggest a small expedition down to the planet's surface."

"Why?" Anselmo turned to look at his AI.

"Repairs, without a station nearby will make repairing this ship, much more difficult. I am picking up materials on the planet down below that might make very sustainable resources for repair, but I cannot conclude that without analyzing the resources myself."

Admiral Jenway concurred, "That would sound like a very logical thing to do. We don't know where we currently are, and if our navigation readings are to be believed, we're quite far from home."

"Yeah, we got that surprise too."

Toran then spoke rather confused, "That's interesting..."

Aselmo turned his attention to the AI, and asked, "What's interesting?"

"Captain, while further making scans on the planet we now orbit, I've been receiving numerous readings, not only of the planet, but of the space around it as well. Now granted, I can't be too sure of this, because no one truly knows just how old space really is, but-"

"Toran, please." Anselmo said. "To the point."

Toran replied, "If I'm doing my calculations right, the age of space itself has decreased by exactly 48 years."

Anselmo knew what the AI was implying at, but did not want to believe it. "What do you mean, Toran?"

"Exactly what you think I mean. We may have gone back in time, Captain."

"How is this possible?!" Anselmo asked in frustration.

Admiral Jenway also seemed rather shocked, but kept her composure. "Captain, we'll figure this out soon. For now, get together what troops you can spare for an expedition to the planet's surface."

"Begging your pardon, ma'am, but I'm not too sure how much I can spare. Most of my forces were deployed to the surface of Reach a day ago. Most of the forces I have here are ship personnel. If I can find anyone to spare, I will gladly-"

Toran spoke up, "Pardon me for interrupting you sir, but we do have one who would be a very worthy candidate for the planet expedition."

"Who?" Anselmo asked.

"A Spartan warrior, by the name of-"

"We have a Spartan?" Anselmo asked taken by surprise. He had heard many stories of the warriors, but had never actually worked, let alone been anywhere near the deadly legends. Reach was the core world of where the Spartan project was held, and its fall, almost guaranteed the extinction of the Spartans. How he had come across this one... "How did we get a Spartan? I was never informed."

Toran spoke, "He was brought aboard by Pelican, after being found adrift in space. His suit has limited life support and would keep him alive for short time in such conditions. He was unconscious, but alive. He is currently in the ship's infirmary, and is doing fine, though still unconscious."

Admiral Jenway spoke, "A Spartan would be perfect for a small expedition. I can send over a few ODSTs as well for support. We have ourselves an expedition Captain."

Anselmo noded, and said, "I'll send them down in fifteen minutes."

Toran spoke, "Captain, I told you, the Spartan remains asleep, and I don't know if it would be logical to speed up his-"

"Wake him up, Toran. He better walk off any uncomfort he has because he is needed. I will debrief him myself."

Toran acknowledged, and said, "Yes, sir. I shall alert the infirmary that you will come and meet him."

Anselmo nodded, and asked, "What did you say the name of this Spartan was?"

Toran brought up the Spartan's file on a nearby screen, and said, "James-005."


	2. Expedition to Mar Sara

_It was cold. Space was through his suit, James could sometimes feel the heat of Reach's nearest sun. How he got out here, he tried to remember. Were they on the offensive, or the defensive side? There was an explosion, and he just felt the hurricane. His body hit the hull's opening rather hard, and he was in the cold vacuum of space._

_The cold, and unforgiving vacuum..._

_"Blue-Two, I said, fall back!"_

_He had been rigging explosives, and was almost done...he didn't see them coming. The Elites. And their damn needlers. One hit his thruster, and exploded, causing him to spin away. Into the cold...vacuum..._

_"Blue-Two! Come in!"_

_He couldn't control anything...they were everywhere...and he was alone..._

_"Blue-Two!"_

* * *

"James?" a voice spoke.

James was completely uncomfortable. He didn't know where he was, or how he got here, but as he opened his eyes, he knew immediately he was on a UNSC's infirmary deck. He sat up slowly, in slight uncomfort, but as a Spartan, that was the last thing on his mind. As he sat up, he realized his armor wasn't on him. He actually felt very naked without it. Vulnerable. Powerless maybe. But he saw it ready for him across the room, so his mind was at ease there.

"Easy, now." the voice to his side said. "You've been to hell and back, but you're still alive, and that's what matters."

James looked to the voice and saw he was speaking with a captain. He was about to follow protocol with a salute, but the captain, just held up a hand and said, "Formalities aren't important right now, soldier. I know that right now, there is probably a lot on your mind, but we're in a situation. I'll need you to get into your armor as soon as possible, because in fifteen minutes, you'll be needed in the hangar."

James looked to the captain in confusion. "Sir?"

Was the battle for Reach still going? James felt it rather strange that it looked, felt, and sounded as calm as it was. No one was running. There were no alarms. No vibrations of MAC rounds being fired. Were they successful in the defense of Reach, or did Reach already fall? Where was his group. His leader, John, would want to see him.

"The hangar." the captain said. "You'll be part of a small expedition down to the planet."

"To Reach? What's going on?" James asked.

"Reach?" the captain said. "I guess you wouldn't know our current situation. I guess I shoulda gotten straight to that point first. Soldier, we are no longer near Reach, in fact, Reach is a good life-time trip away. We somehow have managed not only to travel 75,000 light years away from Reach, against our will, but go back in time, almost 50 years."

James was half tempted to not believe this story, but his discipline, and respect for authority in superiors made him listen. And as strange as it sounded, the captain didn't at all sound like he was making any of this up.

"We are currently in orbit of an unknown planet. Terrain is primarily desert, but with the Battle of Reach being as harsh as it was, both my ship, and the _Redwall_, which is with us, have suffered tremendous damage. Our AI reports that there may be materials on the planet that may help us make necessary repairs to at least provide us with a first step to getting home. I need you and a small expedition party, which is currently on its way over right now, to go down and gather as many samples of the planet's resources as you can. The more we find out about this planet, the better."

James looked to the captain, "There any life readings on the planet?"

"Yes, and from what our AI tells us, there is plenty of it. But due to the ship's current status, I'm afraid that's all we know. We don't know what's down there, but we do know that it is indeed habitable, and that the atmosphere should be breathable for humans."

James got up and stretched out before going to his armor. "Begging your pardon, sir, but I feel that this mission is out of my league. I wasn't trained in this field..." James was a soldier. He knew very little about planet resources, and what was exactly required for ship repairs, but Anselmo smiled.

Anselmo pushed a button nearby and the AI flared to life. "Yes, captain?"

"Toran, I want you to go down with the Spartan to the planet's surface and aid him in the resource gathering."

The AI seemed puzzled at the suggestion. "You and I both know we will need certain resources to fix the ship, captain, but I will be needed up here to perform internal repairs to the ship's core systems. Why would you-"

"If you're with the expedition, you can provide better light as to what materials they find that can be of use to us. The ship has engineers for a reason. We will manage to repair the internal functions of the ship ourselves."

"As you wish, sir."

Anselmo turned to James. "Problem solved. Ever have an AI companion before?" I've heard your armor has capability to carry them."

James shook his head. He knew that at one point, John had an AI named Cortana with him in his armor, but that was about it. He wondered if John was at all nearby. By the sounds of it however, he was the only Spartan around. This may have appeared stressing to one when the mission would rely heavily on you, but James remained calm, and focused. If he was going to forage for building material, he would do so to the best of his ability.

Anselmo took out a chip and inserted it into the nearest terminal, and Toran, disappeared. Anselmo then took it out, and gave the chip t o James. "Take care of him now, until we know exactly what's going on around here, he may be our best shot of finding a way home soon."

James nodded, and set the chip down on a nearby table as he began to get into his armor.

"Who all is going to the planet's surface?" James asked.

"You and a small team of ODSTs if I remember right."

ODSTs. James gave a mental sigh. They had a thing with Spartans. God only knew what, but he was pretty sure it started after a training exercise accident, that involved the accidental killing of a few ODST trainers. The UNSC looked at the event as a success in the training of the Spartan program. A lot of the ODSTs looked at the event more darkly, and even darker at how the UNSC had reacted to the killing. Before Reach, James would get taunts and insults hurled at him every now and then by passing ODSTs. However, it was not at all hard to block them out. And as big as the mouths were on ODSTs, they were very formidable soldiers. And James respected that. He just hoped that they would cooperate with him on this mission.

His armor was on except the helmet, and before he put it on, he took up the chip and inserted it in the back of his helmet, then put it on.

Toran flared to life in his helmet. "What a most interesting set-up. Maybe not as big as the _Hammer_ but it will do for our mission."

James turned to Anselmo, "I need a weapon."

Anselmo nodded and said, "Follow me. We'll hit up the armory before we get to the hangar."

* * *

The Pelican glided through the vacuum of space effortlessly toward the battered _Hammer_. Inside, a team of ten ODSTs were all discussing what they had just been briefed on. 48 years into the past, 75,000 light years from Reach, the mission at hand, and of course, their guest who would undoubtedly lead them on this mission.

"Spartans..." one of them spat. "Why did it have to be a damned Spartan of all the things...?"

"What's your beef, Jason?" one asked.

"Typical question from a rookie." Jason said. Everyone knows how freakish Spartans are. They've had inhuman things done to them. I'm surprised some are even alive today. Hell, I'm surprised we even still call them people. There's something wrong about a man, who can kick you so hard, that it can shatter even the most durable human bones. They are nothing more than lab rats on steroids. I wonder if they even need all the fancy gear the UNSC provides them."

"To be honest, Jason, it just sounds like you have a personal grudge." the rookie said.

"Why don't you just shut up, and shove it where the sun doesn't shine, you ass?" Jason grunted.

"Jason! Chris! Put a cork in it, before I put one in myself!" a female, named Sergeant Susan Adams ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" Chris said, amused with himself. Jason on the other side just grunted before sitting back in his seat.

Another ODST called out, "Begging your pardon, ma'am, but I have a question."

"Go ahead trooper." she replied.

"I'm just wondering how you feel about all this. Us supposedly being in the past, us being this far from home..."

"It is, what it is, private! A wold is just another world, and the time is just what it is as well. Let's just get done what needs to get done, and we'll be that much closer to going home!"

"Yes ma'am." the soldier replied.

It was about five minutes later that the Pelican arrived in the hangar and powered down. The ODSTs got out and began to check their gear and weapons. As soon as Captain Anselmo walked in the hangar with the Spartan in tow, Susan bellowed loudly, "Officer on deck!"

As one the ODSTs stood at attention.

Anselmo nodded and said, "At ease." As they relaxed, he spoke up. "Ladies and gentlemen, as you all know, this area of space is completely unknown to us. Due to a shortage of fuel for our Pelicans, you will need to drop to the planet's surface. Shouldn't be too difficult a drop. There's hopefully no enemy fire, and the sand should be a rather soft landing for you all. Once you have gathered a reasonable amount of resources for us to study, we will send a Pelican to retrieve you.

"Now I am also aware, and have been warned by Admiral Jenway, that there is the ongoing rivalry between the ODST and the Spartan soldiers. Let me remind you all, that we are strangers here. We cannot afford to be ineffective as a team. Readings show life on this planet. We don't know if it's intelligent, savage, wild, tame, hostile, or friendly. If you're not working as a team, if you let this stupid rivalry get in front of your objectives, and trouble finds you...I hope you understand we are currently in a position were we cannot afford any bodies. Not when home is so far away, and not when we all just want to see home again. Do I make myself clear?"

As one, all ODSTs, and even the Spartan replied, "Sir, yes sir!"

Anselmo nodded, and said, "Let's get it done then." And he left the hangar. As he left, Susan addressed her team, "Troopers, get ready to drop!"

In a hurry, troopers finished checking their weapons and gear and ran for the drop pods. James followed blocking out a couple taunts in his direction. As they entered the pods, his hands went to work following protocols. He was taught how to use a drop pod, but had never actually used one before.

"Are you quite sure, you know what you're doing?" the AI asked.

"No." James said. "But we'll be fine."

Susan's voice came in through the team frequency channel. "All pods prepare for drop in thirty seconds!"

The countdown started. James relaxed. He wasn't worried about the entry. He knew that the ODSTs were still at risk in this jump due to the nature of a drop. The ODST unit had earned itself the nickname of "Helljumpers" mainly because of how hot an entry could be through a planet's atmosphere. His armor would protect him from the heat, but ODST armor was no where near as advanced as his. But he had absolute confidence that the jump would go fine.

"Ten seconds!" Susan called.

Anselmo chimed in one last message through their frequency. "We're all counting on you troopers. Good luck."

"Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Drop!"

The pods entered the vacuum. James felt his stomach rise, but he remained calm. The only thing he heard was his own breathing, and his faint heartbeat. No one spoke through the channel. The planet drew closer. The pods began to enter the atmosphere.

"Shit...I'm burning here..." one said through the channel.

"You okay over there, Frank?" Jason asked.

"Oh Jesus...guys I have a problem."

"Keep your head on, soldier! It'll be over soon." Susan said.

The pods heat began to cool finally as they went through the atmosphere.

"Deploy chutes!" Susan barked.

"James pressed a button and the pod's chute deployed. "Guys, I have a problem here." Frank repeated.

"God-dammit, Frank, what's wrong over there?" Jason asked.

"My chute's not deploying!"

"Try manually deploying your rocket brakes! Come on Frank!"

"My pod isn't responding! Shit guys! Oh shit!"

James saw the pod speed to the planet's surface. He already knew this pod was a goner. And so did everyone else. No one spoke as Frank's end went dead. Susan broke the silence about ten seconds later. "All hands, prepare for impact."

James readied himself. About thirty seconds later, his pod hit the ground. Each member confirmed their okay landing, and Susan then gave the okay for the hatches to open. James opened the hatch and looked around. The desert seemed rather endless. The only thing that made the desert not seem so much like a desert, was the fact that there were a few occasional trees.

"Strange." Toran said. "The climate and atmosphere for the planet do not show much signs of water. Yet the plant life thrives. My only guess is that either the tree is feeding off an underground reservoir perhaps, or is like a cactus. What little water it does receive, it stores."

James knelt down and observed the soil. It felt harder than he expected, hard and brittle to the touch. He dug through, and even came across a few small crystals. A few of the soldiers also found the small crystals, and picked them up, examining them.

"I'm analyzing the soil, and can only conclude that the soil is not that old. This planet has seen a lot. The planet might be older than us, but this soil was not formed so long ago. It's almost as if the ground super-cooled after volcanic activity perhaps. The only similar thing I can compare this to is a re-terraforming of a planet after a Covanent glassing."

"Do you think something similar may have happened here?" James asked the AI.

"It's certainly possible. But it's only a theory."

"What of these?" James asked, still holding onto the crystal shards.

"Analyzing. I am not familiar with this type of rock. Though it is definitely some type of mineral. The crystal is dense enough to the point that you could likely make a strong armor plating with it."

James stuck the crystals in a side pocket for reference. If they could come across more, or perhaps a deposit of them, it might be worth contacting the ships about. But for now, all he could offer was a sample. Toran spoke up again, "I'm detecting a rather large amount of metals east of our current position. And a very large number of life readings. Almost like a group. This could be extraterrestrial life."

It was almost too good to be true. Metal readings? Metal was certainly vague, but it was good material, and perhaps durable enough for the warships in orbit. Susan looked at him and asked, "Does your AI have any idea on where to start looking?"

At that, James pointed to the east. "We're getting readings in that direction."

"What kind of readings. What exactly are we dealing with here?"

Toran simply said at the question, "I'm afraid I don't know. There is a lot of interference, perhaps from the weather, or because of technological signals that I am unfamiliar with."

James simply said, "We aren't sure yet."

Susan nodded and said, "Something's better than nothing. "Let's move out. Be on your guard. Who knows what exactly is on this rock."

About an hour later, the team of ten found themselves looking across the desert at something they did not at all expect to find. A settlement. There was life on this planet all right, and by the looks of buildings through scopes and visors, it looked very similar to human life. Toran was abuzz about the buildings design. "Astounding. the building material is rather dense. Though it is not at all the material we use in our buildings. Or ships. Our ships have a titanium based hull for the most part, as you know. These shelters have a structure very similar to steel, and I am picking up traces that match the minerals we found earlier."

"You mean the minerals are used to build structures?"

"It would seem so." Toran said.

"Is the town populated?" James asked.

"As if you had to ask." Toran said. "Look to your right, and tell me what you see."

James looked, and what he saw through his visor made him skip a breath. Humans. There were humans over there.

The ODST caught track of them too and stayed low. "I'll be damned..." Chris said. "Humans out here? I never knew we came so far..."

James finally spoke to his AI. "Got an explanation for this? I was not aware we had come so far across the galaxy."

Toran simpl said, "You may have to give me some time on this one, James. I'll do what I can to get some information on this, but it may take some time. Meanwhile, I would say you go and interact with these humans. I've analyzed them, and do not see them as dangerous. They're civilians, and judging from the equipment that's around the premises, they're likely just farmers...of a sort."

James nodded at the suggestion, and beckoned the team to follow. This made a few of the soldiers a bit nervous. "You gone mental?" Jason asked. "We don't know how these humans would react to us! Or the dangers that could possibly come from them as far as-"

"They're only civilians." James said. "Let's see if they can answer a few questions."

"Civilians or not." Jason intervened. "What's making you think this is so damn smart? We're in a different timescale! Interacting could put our very lives at stake for all we know. How could you possibly think this as smart? The UNSC give you a smarter brain too when they gave you stronger muscle?"

"Jason, put a sock in it." Susan said.

As James approached the civilians, the ODSTs slowly in tow, the civilians turned, a little surprised at the size and appearance of James. "Look at what the sandstorm blew in..." one of the civilians said.

"Well that's good." Toran said. "They at least speak our language."

The civilian, unaware of the AI that ad just spoken to James, continued to look at the group nine ODSTs, and the Spartan. "You boys with the Dominion? If this is about taxes, I've already told you..."

Dominion? James wasn't aware of a thing called the Dominion. Perhaps it was a government on this planet? James held up a hand to calm the civilian down, "No, I'm not with the Dominion. I'm just wondering where we are. What planet is this? What system?"

The other civilian looked at him. "You're on Mar Sara, son. Planet of the Sara System."

Mar Sara? Sara System? His AI remaind silent, as he was likely trying to find any bit of information on this.

The civilians continued to look on te goup, and one finally asked, "You ain't from around here, are you?"

"No." James said. "I'm in haste." He took out the crystals he had found earlier. "I need to know if you know if these can be melted down into a usable building material."

The civilians looked at the crystals. "Sure, but not in that small an amount. And good luck finding a deposit. The Dominion seizes control of almost any claim to support the army. Those small shards might get you some drinks down at Joeyray''s Bar, but that's about it."

"Well at least they have alcohol around here..." James heard one of the soldiers say.

James simply nodded at the civilians. "Thanks for your time."

"Anytime." the civilians said, and they watched the group leave. "Anytime..."

"Well, that could have gone better..." one of the troopers said.

"What do we do now? Thom's right. If the crystals we found earlier are controlled by someone else, how will we get enough to make repairs to our ship?"

James simply said, "I will try to establish communication with the _Hammer._ They will want to know that humans live here. Toran, can you do that?"

Toran was silent as he worked. "Apologies, sir. Something's interfering with the ground ability to do so."

"How?" James asked.

"There's a couple of reasons. Either the _Hammer_'s communications has gone out, or something is jamming it."

"Can you override a jam?"

"Not from down here, I can't." Toran said.

James looked up. They were cut off from the only things that could get them off this planet...

* * *

"Visual contact in ten seconds, sir!"

Anselmo was focused on the screen. They had just detected incoming ship signals. This wasn't good. If these signals were hostile, he'd have no choice but to comply. His weapons were still offline, and though the _Redwall_'s weapons were partially online, Admiral Jenway had said, it was not their place to start a possible intergalactic war. And even if they could, the weapons weren't fully functional still."

"Five, four, three two..."

There was a flash, and seven vessels, each about the size of a UNSC Destroyer, perhaps a little longer, came out of warp speed. It was apparent that these ships did not know of slipspace travel. The shape of the ships also greatly differed from the UNSC ship designs. Anselmo had never seen such design before. "Can you get me ship statuses of those ships?"

Eric spoke up, "I am picking up slight energy shielding, sir. They have weapons locked on us sir."

Weapons locked? Were they going to fight?

"I'm picking up a message, sir!"

They could communicate at least. Strange the technology was so similar that they could send and receive messages. He didn't know if the video communication would work, but he said, "Receive."

The screen flared in static, but as soon as the static disappeared, the captain almost fell out of his seat at what he saw. A human! There were humans here! Admiral Jenway, who had not stopped her communication with the _Hammer, _also saw this from her ship, and was in shock too. The other human however, showed no shock.

"Human vessels. By flying in this sector of Mar Sara space, you are in violation of Dominion Law 7 dash 14 Sector of now you will power down your ships, and surrender. We will be towing your ships to Korhal IV."

"Begging your pardon, sir," Jenway spoke, "But there has been a misunderstanding. We are stranded, and do not mean any-"

"We have our orders." the man spoke. "We don't answer to you. Power down your ships. We've run a scan on you, and know you are in no shape for a fight. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. I suggest you power down your ships, now." With that, the screen went blank. Shortly afterward, all communications were jammed. Anselmo swore. "Power us down."

He sank into his chair as the strange ships began to surround the two battered ships. The expedition was now on their own. He just hoped that thy would be okay without them...they'd have to be.

* * *

The bar was empty. They had decided to take a small break here after James broke the news that he could not reach the ships. Toran said that after the time they had spent trudging through the desert, a small break would be okay. Some of the ODSTs, had given up their crystals, much to James' disapproval, for a drink or two. But Susan just told the Spartan, to let them do it. James would hold onto his samples for further study. He looked around the bar. The only other occupant inside the bar was a lone drunk, and the bartender. James sat alone at a table, still inspecting the strange minerals, while Susan, Chris, Thom, and Jason sat alone at a table. The other ODST troops were out stretching or exploring the backwater town.

Five minutes later, a very large man entered the room. James took a look at the man who easily dwarfed them all in size, even with his armor. The man was huge, and the armor he wore, was even bigger. James was surprised he even fit through the door at all. He looked at the occupants through a visor, his face hidden, until he saw the drunk and he walked across the floor towards the drunk, his heavy boots causing the metal floors to rattle somewhat.

"Can't say I've ever seen armor like that, before." Toran spoke. "Analyzing."

The drunk and the large man began to interact.

"Most interesting..." Toran said. "The armor appears on file as an older type of combat armor. Apparently, this was used quite a while back. Couple hundred years ago if I had to guess."

"So then these people may have come from Earth?" James asked.

"Well let me tell you what I've found so far, and listen carefully. I had to crack a lot of safes to get this information. Someone was definitely trying to hide this from the public. In 2259, there was a scientist named Doran Routhe, who consolidated with the governments of Earth to start colonization outside of Earth. This was nothing new, but he wanted to go outside the Sol System. Earth was experiencing resource depletion, and he wanted to find new resources. Under top secret operation, he and the government loaded supercarriers, the _Reagan, Argo, Sarengo, and Naggifar_, with over fifty-six thousand convicted criminals. Thing was, only one carrier had a working guidance system. This turned out to be a major flaw, because their guidance systems were not as advanced as ours are now, and the system failed. They entered a warp jump that apparently lasted them almost 28 years. Maybe even longer. This is the area they may have landed. Earth simply calls this area, the Korpulu Sector."

"So Earth knows of this place?"

"Apparently they also sent a task force out several years afterward to try and retake the sector. Thing is, they never heard from it again. As for Doran Routhe, the failure of the project was the end of his career to say the very least."

James said nothing, but continued to look at the large soldier.

Toran continued. "The armor itself also has traces of the minerals we picked up. I think it is now unquestionable. Those minerals are a good building material. That armor may be almost as hardy and sturdy as yours. Yes, it lacks the personal shielding your armor has, but don't try your luck in arm wrestling, you you take my meaning for it." James said nothing again. "Another interesting thing is the fact that that specific model has an internal lockup. It is not accessible to the man inside."

"You're saying he can't get out." James said.

"Exactly. And what's even more interesting is that I am picking up a system that is connected to the man's vital organs. At any given time...someone can kill him. That suit as far as I am concerned...is a death trap."

James pondered why any man would bother stepping into a suit like that, but it wasn't his place to ask why. Things were likely run different here anyway. James stood up and went to the table of the ODSTs. "We've spent enough time here. We best be off."

As they left the bar, James waiting for each to leave, he took one last look at the large man, and the drunk. They were chuckling at each other, and the last thing h heard them do as he walked out, was give a toast in remembrance of old times..


	3. Escape From Mar Sara

The expedition left the town and begun another long trek through the desert. Not so much to search for building materials now. They kept trying to make contact with either of the ships in orbit, but to no avail. Toran even went as far to tell James that he no longer detected their signals nearby. This was likely a big dampener to the team, but they trudged on through the wastelands.

The sun was setting, and James knew they'd have to set up camp soon. He still knew nothing about this system. Who knew how cold it would get. However, before James could relay the plan to the troopers in tow, Toran flared to life, in alert. "James, I'm detecting movement to the east!"

James held up a hand, and the team stopped. "Toran, could it be other humans?"

"It's too fast to be a human. Way too fast. I don't think it's a vehicle, because I'm not picking up any sign of technology in the area, or fuel consumption. Whatever is coming our way, is running, and it is running fast. I dare-say, faster than you."

In his armor, James could run at speeds of up to fifteen to twenty miles an hour. Was this thing perhaps an animal? Animals back home could be very capable runners. Was something here, running like that?

James finally addressed the team. "Something's coming. Form a defensive perimeter facing the east."

Jason spat. "And why should we follow your orders, Spartan?"

Susan, simply shot that question down, "Jason, assume your position, and get your weapon at the ready!"

James was very thankful this Susan had a respect for him. Or for all he knew, she didn't but knew the importance of their survival and cooperation. Whatever it was, he was grateful for it.

"How many signatures, Toran?" James asked his AI.

"I'm picking up four nearby signatures. Not signatures I at all recognize. They should be coming into sight shortly..."

James focused his visor and got a closer look. About three seconds later, six creatures ran over the hill at a dead run. The very sight of them...

"What in God's name..." James muttered.

These creatures almost made his heart skip a beat. It had been a long time since something had made that happen. There was something very unsettling about these creatures. The stride of the creatures run was unbroken, and they continued to bare down on them. James looked at them almost like dogs, only they were larger, and not at all like the dogs he knew back home. They had a very rough hide by the looks of it, they had two long talons protruding from their back, two horns coming from the bottom of their maws, their feet were webbed, and sharp clawed. And the sounds that he picked up from them, made the hair on his neck stand.

The ODSTs saw them, and the one known as Thom spoke out loud, "Orders?!"

Susan took one look at them and shook her head. "Whatever they are, they aren't friendly faces! Take them down!"

The ODSTs opened fire using their assault rifles, and battle rifles. James brought out his own assault rifles and fired short bursts into the creatures.

The creatures screamed under the fire of the bullets, and James saw blood and pieces fly off the creatures, yet somehow impossibly, they continued to run toward them, their battle frenzy that much stronger.

"Dammit!" Chris shouted. "Why won't these things go down?!"

"Aim straighter! They're running too fast!" Susan bellowed.

Three of the creatures fell dead, but the other three, now dangerously close, kept running in their attack at the group. James knew that had these creatures likely not been running as fast as they were, would have likely gone down. The team heavily outmatched these creatures, and the weapons they had were some of the finest the UNSC had to offer. James could only conclude that the creatures had managed to avoid a good amount of the bullets in their run. James kept firing at one, and this creature knew it. What the creature did took James almost completely by surprise. It crouched and with a leap unlike James had ever seen any animal do, it jumped straight for him. It's sharp claws and teeth barred, and it's talons back. James focused however, and with one swift motion, moved his weapon out of the way, and swung his fist straight into the creatures skull. The sand was decorated in a thick black ichor as soon as he made contact, and the creature, who would have bitten down, and tried to gut him, fell to the ground dead. The other two creatures took very similar leaps at the ODSTs. One creature missed it's target after a storm of bullets found it's face, and it fell to the ground dead. One however met it's target, and one very unlucky ODST found himself screaming before the creature bit into his face, stabbed the soldiers back with it's talons, and proceeded to gut and slash the soldier's chest and abdomen as he fell to the ground dead. The bullets that went into this creature as it hit the ground, nearly tore the creature to shreds, yet the soldiers, in the adrenaline rush continued to fire into the creature. James reloaded as everyone caught their breath.

Jason spoke up as he breathed, "Jesus fucking Christ! What the hell are these things?!"

Before anyone could answer, Susan pulled out her magnum pistol and shot one of the creatures twice in the head as it twitched. James calmed her, and asked, "Who did we lose?"

One of the ODSTs knelt down for the dog tags around the soldiers neck. ""Emmet, sir...oh God, the poor bastard..."

"There's nothing we can do for him, now..." James said.

Jason took that kinda hard. "Mind at least pretending you show a bit of sympathy for him?!"

James ignored him and asked Toran, "Can you identify these creatures?"

Toran sounded like he had been running around in a library almost. "I have absolutely no record of these xenomorphs. No matter how hard I look. There's nothing. Not even mysterious stories. Nothing."

One of the female ODSTs, was examining one of the corpses. She called to Susan, "Ma'am, you may wanna look at this."

Susan and James walked over. They looked at the carcass. Bullet holes riddled the back, but some of the bullets barely went in at all. Something James thought very strange. The female ODST continued. "I've never seen a creature without shields like the Covanent take such damage from our weapons."

Toran spoke to James, "I am scanning the corpses. These creatures are most fascinating. You remember the minerals you found, right?"

"Yes." James said. "What about them?"

"I cannot believe what I'm about to say," Toran said, "But these creatures, though as savage as they are, appear to be quite intelligent. They have found a way to use the same mineral, and toughen their hide. There are traces of the mineral in a different form, lining the creatures hide. Seeing this, I'm not surprised it took as much as it did with them at such a ace to bring them down."

As soon as James relayed this information to them, Jason simply said in heavy sarcasm, "Wonderful. Bulletproof aliens."

Thom shook his head in disbelief. "They bled. Any creature that bleeds can die..."

Toran lit up again. "I'm picking up more of those signatures!"

"More?!" James asked out loud.

The ODSTs heard that, and some began to cuss up a storm as they resumed their firing positions."

Toran spoke, "Sir, watch yourself! They are right under your-!"

Toran never finished as the ground below them erupted in dirt. The formation the had broke as two huge creatures rose from the dirt. At first look, James saw the head and body and thought of the creature as somewhat snake-like in appearance. The head was heavily shield-like, it stood on it's snakelike tail, and it's arms resembled three-bladed scythes. The soldiers began to unload upon the two new enemies, and the creatures let out similar shrieks of pain. James could already tell these creatures were much more durable than the dog-like creatures, though thankfully, these creatures were sluggish. They were very easy targets. As they surfaced however, one impaled one of he ODST troopers with it's scythe-like arms before flinging it's tail in a motion, which launched several spikes at James. The shielding took the hit rather bluntly, but James knew that any damage to his shield depleted it. Human shielding was not at all perfect, and they still had more creatures coming in upon them. These snakelike creatures were providing a very effective distraction. Two more of the ODST troopers fell dead when one's unarmored face was impaled, and another's chest found several of the spines embedded in it, and some spikes even met Chris' arm and shoulder and he fell to the ground screaming." The creatures, under the heavy fire fell to the ground dead in a matter of seconds after they surfaced, but the damage had been done. Two more troopers had been lost, and now they had one wounded.

"They're below us too?!" Chris asked, still in pain. "God it hurts!"

"Easy, Chris!" Susan said, "You're gonna be just fine!" She looked to James, and said "We're taking too many casualties." Susan said.

James simply reloaded. "They're not done with us." he said. He knew there wasn't a big chance of outrunning them, particularly since they could be anywhere under the ground apparently.

James looked to the east. Even more of the dog and snake-like creatures were heading towards them. The ODSTs saw this and one simply said, "God have mercy on us..."

James aimed his assault rifle, though he knew it was pointless. However he would go down like he was trained. In combat. Toran however spoke up, "Incoming signatures! On our six!"

As soon as he said that, there was a loud roar as two missile flew overhead at the swarm of creatures, killing a good amount of the charging creatures. There was also a loud thud, and an explosion, as if artillery had been fired. James lowered his weapon as two human aircraft flew overhead. Or at least they looked human. Toran then confirmed the presence of humans in the area. Shortly afterward, as the artillery, now seen on a dune finished off the small swarm of creatures, a couple jeep like vehicles drove down. A man, in similar combat armor as the large man from the bar hopped out. He was accompanied by a few other soldiers in similar armor. This was the first time James had actually gotten such a close look at the armor.

In his armor, James stood at a height at a high six foot 8 or so. This armor these humans were wearing was much more bulky, and probably not as maneuverable. It was also much larger. In his armor, the soldier inside likely stood anywhere from seven or even eight feet. His armored gauntlets were easily double the size of the average human hand, and the weapons those gauntlets, were huge, and also looked rather heavy. Some of the other soldiers had smaller armor, and smaller weapons, but not all of them. James was surprised by what he saw. The larger soldier, who's armor was a dark navy blue came forward. The visor, which hid the man's face, slid back to reveal a man who looked friendly enough. "You boys okay?" the man asked. By the sound of him, he appeared to be in his 40's,

James shook his head. "Afraid not, sir. Whatever hit us, just took out four of our men, and we got one wounded. Is there a station we can rest at for the night?"

"Straight to the point are we?" the soldier asked. ''Whatever' hit you, will be back. I would think any soldier would know how the Zerg run."

Zerg? Toran said nothing at the term. The soldier simply looked around. "We can give what's left of your unit a lift to our station, sure, we were just heading there anyway, after picking up a few more survivors."

Wait a minute. Survivors? James was lost. Susan seemed to be lost too, she approached the soldier, "Sir, Sergeant Susan Adams. What exactly is going on?"

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, sergeant. But there is a lot that is going on, and right now, the badlands are not were you want to be. Have your survivors get going with us. I'll brief you two," he said pointing to James and Susan, "On our way." He then looked to the four bodies which lay in red sand. "I'm afraid, we can't bring the dead. We hate to leave them like that, but we cannot afford to give them a proper burial. The Zerg will return and in greater numbers. We don't know why they are attacking us now of all things, but we can't stay here." Let's get you out of here."

Susan and James nodded and as they retrieved their dead soldiers weapons, ammunition, and dog tags, they were divided into the vehicles. James and Susan got into the jeep-like vehicle, which almost resembled the warthogs back home, and as soon as they rolled, James asked, "What where those creatures? I have never seen such durable, and savage creatures."

He knew alien races were not always friendly. Hell back home, the Covanent had done more inhuman things than he could count to their race. But again, they were strategic. They planned their moves carefully, and though tough in battle he had gotten used to them. And without their energy shields, they were quite easy to kill.

These creatures...he thought he heard the soldier call them Zerg, had absolutely no strategy. In both their encounters with the dog-like and snake-like creatures, the creatures were heavily outnumbered, and yet they attacked anyway. They didn't even seem to care that they would be dead in seconds. And their durable hides, were also a wonderful defense mechanism.

"Everyone here knows those creatures, son." the soldier said.

"We're not from around here, sir." Susan said.

The soldier chuckled. "You can stop calling me sir, ma'am. I'm not really anyone of high importance. I'm Travis Thrasher, and if you wanna call me anything, you can just call me important ground staff in Raynor's Raiders."

"Raynor's Raiders?" Susan asked.

"Yeah. The one and only." Travis said, lighting up a cigar and offering one to them, though they both politely refused. "I ain't gonna lie, at first I thought you guys were with the Dominion, and Mengsk was just trying out new soldiers or something. I've never seen armor quite like yours," he said pointing to James, and then he looked at Susan, "But I will say you and the other soldiers are rather under-protected to be fighting the Zerg." He puffed and looked into the setting sun, before focusing his attention back on them. ""Where you from?"

Susan wasn't really sure if she felt comfortable talking to this soldier, but the soldier seemed to read this like a book. "Come on now, if you wanna get out of this mess alive, I think it's time to start building the trust bridges."

James spoke, "We're from a planet over 75,000 light years away. We humans have come from as far as the Sol System."

"Damn son..." Travis said. "You guys come from Earth? You guys survivors of the UED?"

"UED, sir?" Susan asked.

Travis nodded. "The United Earth Directorate. They managed to come here about four years ago. Apparently, Earth wanted to try and take this sector. Thing is, they heavily underestimated the Zerg. Last I heard, their fleet was wiped out shortly before the Zerg vanished."

James remembered the task force that Earth sent out to a place called the Korpulu Sector. And how it was never heard from again. That added up. James simply said, "We're from United Nations Space Command."

"Can't say I've heard of them." Travis said. But I can say, you are a long way from home. How'd you get here?"

"To be honest, with you, we're not too sure either." Susan called out. We have a couple ships up in orbit we've been trying to reach, and we are unable to do so."

"Ships in orbit?" Travis said. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. Only close ship at all is the _Hyperion_. It's not here yet, but it's on it's way to pick up whatever survivors there are before the Zerg overrun us."

This Travis kept mentioning the Zerg, yet they still knew nothing about them. "What can you tell us of the Zerg?" James asked as a station began to come into view.

"Plenty, and there's some I'd rather not tell you at all. They first showed their faces around the Korpulu Sector five years ago or so. They are some of the most vicious little bastards one can think of. They can be tough on the outside, but their insides are just as fragile as us."

"So they're an alien race? Civilized?"

"Civilized? To an extent I guess. They establish colonies anywhere they can."

"I've never seen creatures rush to their deaths like they did. We were attacked twice, and each time, they were outgunned."

"Damn, son." Travis said, "You really aren't from around here. Zerg don't have minds. They don't care how outgunned they are. The thing you gotta remember about the Zerg is that each and every one of them is expendable. They are easily replaced, and in a very quick amount of time, too. I was a fool to think we had taken care of them so long ago. They are quick, deadly, and a good amount of the time, their numbers heavily outweigh yours."

"Numbers don't win a battle." James said.

"I'd like to see you say the exact same thing when you got a million of those creatures running toward you. They are most capable of doing that. And with as little as you saw, you were lucky. Those smaller ones you fought, those are Zerglings. Those larger ones with the scythes, those are Hydralisks."

"Are those all that make up the Zerg race?" Susan asked.

"You wish they were, Sergeant. The Zerg are master biologists, and anything they can get their hands on, they will make part of them. The two you faced were nothing more than basic infantry and scouting units."

"Sir, we got another attack wave to our west!"

"Aw, hell." Travis said, and he stood up in a position where he was braced in the moving vehicle. He took up his large weapon, and looked, as did James and Susan. A large amount of Zerglings were running alongside them to their west. Though as they charged, there were a couple explosions and the group seemed to be neutralized for the most part. "Well at least the Spider mines are working."

However behind that group of zerg were more, and they were on the attack. Travis wasn't lying. These Zerg were very savage, and vicious, and the frenzy in their eyes said they would not stop until they claimed the station. Perhaps even more beyond the station.

"Dammit..." Travis said and he pushed a button hear his visor, "This is Travis, I have the last of the survivors. We got Zerg on our asses and are hoping the train is about to leave the station."

Another voice was heard, "Travis, help's coming. You know Matt. He always knows how to make an entrance."

"Running late again..." Travis said. "We'll try to hold these things off as long as we can. But Matt better learn to step it up if you ask me."

There was then gunfire from one of the vehicles. Susan and James saw Thom and Jason shooting Zerg out of their vehicle. Zerg that had not been there before. Travis took aim and aided them, and a couple Zerglings went down for the count. Shortly afterward, they rushed into the station, and were greeted by other soldiers. Travis jumped out of the vehicle and looked around. He then looked to James and Susan. "If you and your team can fire a weapon, we could use all the help we can get right what you've told me is true about your other two ships, for now, we're your only way off this planet. God only knows when Mar Sara will be overrun. It's your choice whether or not you come with us, but you better make it now."

Susan looked to James and then back to Travis nodding. "We'll go with you. Should luck be with us, we'll run into our flagships soon."

"Well," Travis said, "Welcome to Raynor's Raiders. Take a weapon, and join the party."

Travis then loaded his weapon and jogged in his armor over to the west wall, where other soldiers were firing their weapons likely at another Zerg attack wave.

Chris was helped off the jeep, and rushed by paramedics over to the infirmary.

Thom, Jason, and the female ODST known as Carrissa, joined Susan and James. They watched Chris get rushed away. "Poor man..." Jason said.

"He'll be fine." Susan said. "Lock and load. We're leaving this planet soon."

"What about the _Hammer _and _Redwall?"_

"They're not here anymore." Susan said. "We don't know where they are. But until we find out, this group of soldiers is our best bet for survival. Now let's do our part and kill some of these Zerg."

"Zerg?" Jason asked. "These things are Zerg?" as they went to the wall.

At one glance over the wall, Thom simply whispered, "Mother of God..." The ground was crawling with Zerg. There were even winged Zerg taking to the air, but missile turrets were keeping the air units busy, thankfully.

It was then that the familiar larger soldier, the one from the bar walked by. He took one look at the ODSTs, and said, "Aren't you ladies a little under-dressed for the occasion?"

Jason turned to face the larger soldier and simply said, "Hey go fu-" the rest was drowned out by an exploding missile turret.

Susan swore and smacked the backside of Jason's head. "Focus your god-damn rifle on these creatures, now! Save your smart-talk for later! Read me?!"

Jason simply began to shoot the creatures, and the larger one found an open place and knelt down and began firing himself.

"There's too many of them! Fall back! FALL BACK!"

_"Blue-Two! Fall back! Fall back now!"_

James heard the command. He saw the soldiers all start to fall back and he saw the oncoming horde of Zerg running toward their position. He knew that it would be a matter of time before they were overrun. If this ship was at all coming...

It was then that there was a few sonic booms in the sky. A huge shadow engulfed the land, and above them was a ship about as big as a UNSC Destroyer, only shaped much different. It was almost like a destroyer in length, but the back expanded into two curved wings, and the front of the ship was wide like the head of a lowercase t. The ships firepower was a sight to behold as it came through the atmosphere. It charged up several pulses of what appeared to be some type of laser weaponry tore through the zerg wave. Some missiles were shot and as the ship took on the horde of Zerg, several smaller dropships flew out of it's hangar, and toward the station.

Toran analyzed the ship. "Another older design of battleships...only much more advanced than what I have on file. These humans have put some serious development into their technology, gotta give them that. Receiving a message. I'll patch it through..."

As soon as Toran said this, James heard Travis' voice say, "Fall back to the command Post. Everyone! The _Hyperion_ will hold them off for us to make our escape! Let's move out, boys and girls!"

James then found himself with the remaining survivors of the outpost. The rest of his squad were alive and accounted for, though they all got on different dropships. He and Susan were with Travis, the Larger man from the bar, and, strangely enough, the drunk from the bar. James looked at him, as if in question of why he was here. But as they entered the ships hangar, Travis who had just gotten out of his combat armor rather quick, tapped Susan and James on the shoulder. "Follow me. You will both be wanted for debriefing."

James and Susan followed Travis, and a small group of people through the rather small corridors of the ship. The corridors were much smaller than UNSC ships. And the larger man almost took up all the room. They all entered a room and the larger man looked around as if in awe.

"Damn Jimmy...you've been holding out on me!"

The drunk paid no attention to the larger man, and had his eyes focused on a man, who was dressed up in military outfit. "Cutting it pretty close there, Matt."

The younger man turned to face the drunk. "Never left you hanging before, sir."

Sir? Was this drunk a military commander? Was he in charge of this ship? James said nothing.

The drunk just waved off the comment and said, "Fair enough. Just get us the hell out of here!"

The young officer nodded, and pushed a button, as down below the station began to burn under the attack of the Zerg before moving on. "All batteries, concentrate forward firepower. Spin up drives to and six!"

Simply listening to this man made Toran's head spin. "Such outdated technology! I mean, I guess it would be obvious these people don't know of our Translight engines, but don't they at least know of nuclear fusion?"

"All hands" the officer continued. "Brace for warp jump on my mark!"

Warp jumps...another outdated technology. Ever since slipspace travel was discovered, humanity had almost all but forgotten warp travel. It was hard on the ship's hull, and used a lot of fuel depending on how far you went. The officer looked down at his watch and as everyone braced themselves, he said, "Mark."

At that word, the ship lurched forward at incredible speed. The atmosphere changed completely, and the next thing James knew, they were in a completely different area of space. As soon as they stopped, the drunk...or commander, walked to the officer. He was in frustration.

"What the hell happened?! We ain't seen the Zerg in years! Why attack Mar Sara now?"

Travis spoke up, "Sir, are you sure your friend here didn't set us up?"

The larger soldier looked to Travis and said, "I already told you. I didn't know anything about the Zerg, and if I did, you can bet I would not have set them loose on us."

The officer simply looked at the commander and said, "It's not just Mar Sara, sir..." and he brought up a screen and pressed a few buttons. "You need to see this..."

The screen then fluttered to life with what looked to be news reports of Zerg attacks starting to happen all around the sector...

"...Zerg Swarm launched a full scale attack-"

"-Devastation spread throughout all outer rim planets-"

"-Sustained heavy losses-"

"-casualties in the billions..."

"...Minutes ago the Zerg attacked a Dominion military research facility-"

The news kept scrawling across the screen. James just absorbed it all. These things were everywhere...the unsettling feeling from before started to return, but he kept it down. The larger soldier took a look at the screen and muttered under his breath, "Sweet, mother of mercy..."

The next thing the footage however showed, gave James a true sense of fear...

"New exclusive video footage confirms the Queen of Blades is in fact leading the swarm!"

Whatever that creature the video showed was, it certainly made James stop dead in it's tracks. The way the creature looked _into_ the camera lense...he didn't know what it was, but something about her spoke of great power. Toran picked up on James' emotion and said, "You okay, sir?"

"I'll be fine..." James said...

Meanwhile, the commander, upon seeing the creature on screen sank into his command chair. He looked like he had been struck with very raw emotion. As if something was calling out to him from the past. The officer never took his eyes off the screen. "We always knew she'd be back...but what's she after?

The commander just kept his eyes glued to the floor. After a few seconds, he managed to say the statement, "She's come to finish the job...


	4. Aboard the Hyperion

"James..." Toran repeated. "You okay?"

James blinked. He had not realized his status of almost complete silence. The creatures he had just been fighting, and the humanoid being he had just seen on the screen had not left his memory. Particularly the humanoid. What was that thing? Had it not looked so mutated and, James would have said she would have almost passed for a human at one point. She was bipedal, had arms and legs like a human, even the body was human in appearance. The only things inhuman about her was her external hard armor that likely was her skin (even where her hair should have been, looked like it was armored dreadlocks), and her wings. The wings. They didn't look like wings meant for flight. Those wings looked like they were much deadlier than flight.

"Toran..." James asked. "Did you see that thing?"

"I did." Toran said. "And I'm sorry to say that if you want more information on this "Queen of Blades", you'll have to look for it yourself. I cannot tell you much from a screen projection and a silhouette."

Meanwhile, the larger marine that James heard the commander name "Tychus", was talking to the commanding officer of how much he was in awe of the ship. Toran took this opportunity to listen in. "Most interesting." Toran said. James said nothing, he sat down on a nearby seat while Susan, who was still behind him, stood standing. Toran continued, "You remember the marine's armor, right? How it has internal lockup?"

James simply nodded, and Toran said, "Well he's talking about how he has some "debt to pay" to some organization that helped him escape from prison. If you remember the danger of the suit, the device that could very much put an end to that marine's life, you could very much say that this prisoner has some cards to play against, and he doesn't have a winning hand." James only shrugged. It wasn't very much in his opinion, or interest as to what this Tychus had gotten himself into. His real interest in the conversations going on on the bridge came when the commander looked to the young officer.

"Just how bad is it, Matt?"

The young officer, Matt, brought up a few news reports and maps on a nearby screen and began to show the commander more. "Zerg are attacking all over the sector, sir. Mengsk pulled the fleet back to protect the Dominion core-worlds, leaving the fringe worlds to fend for themselves. It's a nightmare."

Travis popped his neck and spoke up. "Got a plan, Jim? We all know we can't just leave the fringe worlds to fend for themselves."

"I know, Travis." the commander said. "But you and I both know there's no way we can stop an alien invasion with one capital ship, and a handful of volunteers."

Tychus lit a cigar and took a couple puffs. "Best we just stay clear, partner," he said to the commander. "We can earn ourselves a fortune working for Moebius while this whole thing just blows over."

That left a bad impression on Matt. He frowned and spoke up, "You don't get it convict! This isn't gonna just 'blow over'! The Zerg won't stop until we're all dead!"

The commander lifted a calming hand to Matt and said, "Don't worry, Matt. We ain't sitting this one out. But we're not exactly in tip top shape either. We'll earn some cash, and build our forces so we can make a difference when it counts." "As you say, sir." Matt replied in acknowledgment. It was then that the Commander saw James and Susan behind Travis. He frowned and asked Travis, "Did a dog follow you home, Travis?"

"Pardon, sir?" Travis asked.

"You got two new faces behind you. I'm just wondering what they're doing up here."

Travis had almost forgotten about the interesting forces he had brought up from the planet and said, "Oh right. These two were part of a small group of survivors near one of the backwater stations on Mar Sara. They were hit hard by a Zerg skirmish, and though most of them were underprotected, they did manage a good amount of Zerg rather formidably. Their story, which I am not too familiar with is complicated. For now, they're with us, sir."

"Underprotected is sugarcoating it." Tychus said. "Those soldiers like about as scrawny as the weapons they were carrying."

"And what's even more interesting," Travis continued, "is that they came from Earth. Or so they claim."

The commander looked to Travis. "UED?"

Travis shook his head. "Something else. Something I've never even heard of to be honest."

The commander walked over to Susan and James. "You two got names?"

Susan was the first to speak. "Sergeant Susan Adams, sir. UNSC."

"UNSC?" the commander repeated. "I can't say I've heard of that either. What is that?"

James spoke up. "United Nations Space Command."

The commander looked to James. "And your name, son?"

James had almost forgotten his name. He had yet to introduce himself to anybody here. "James, sir. James-005."

Travis cocked his head. "Any last name?"

James said nothing. To be perfectly honest with himself, he had no clue what his last name was. He had mainly gone by his Spartan tag and first name while in training in the Spartan program. At first he thought that he would perhaps be uncomfortable with this, but now he wasn't sure he even cared.

The commander crossed his arms. "Okay, I'm interested. I'd like to hear the stories of these two. How many were brought on board?"

Travis replied, "Including these two, there are six in all.I am not sure where the others are, but I know one is probably down at the infirmary. He had a nasty encounter with a hydralisk."

The commander nodded. "If you two don't mind, in about fifteen minutes, I'd like to be present in a brief with you two."

James said nothing and Susan just said, "As you wish, sir."

Toran seemed all for it too. "Perhaps this commander can shed some light on our present situation for us too. Perhaps even help us find and make contact with the _Redwall_ or _Hammer._"

The commander nodded. He turned to Travis and Matt, and said, "I'm going to go and check with Swann down in the armory. Travis, if you wouldn't mind escorting them to a private room after this, and waiting for me there..."

"Not a problem, commander." Travis said.

The commander then turned to Susan and James. "Welcome aboard the _Hyperion_. I'm James Raynor, though to avoid confusion with your name, you can call me 'Jim'"

* * *

Susan and James waited in a slightly dark room. It wasn't that furnished, but James didn't care. He had finally taken off his helmet and it was hanging at his side. Susan said nothing, in fact her eyes were very much glued to the wall. Travis stood behind them at the door. Fifteen minutes had passed and there was no Raynor. Travis chuckled to himself at the thought. Raynor was a busy man he knew, but he wasn't sure how patient his guests would be. Though judging by their absolute silence, they were rather patient.

"Can I get either of you a coffee?" Travis asked walking over to a nearby machine.

James said nothing while Susan simply shook her head. "No thank you. I don't drink coffee."

Travis chuckled. "Probably a good thing too. I haven't had Earth coffee since I had a taste of what the UED brought. But the coffee here for sure isn't Earth quality."

The door opened and in stepped Raynor. "Sorry I'm late."

Travis chuckled at the commander and said, "I half expected a little delay, sir. Coffee?"

"Please, and thanks." Raynor said. He sat on the opposite side of the table and sat back, hands on his lap. "Well let's get started." His eyes were fixed on the two UNSC soldiers. "Well, what's your story?"

They didn't say much as Travis gave Raynor his coffee before sipping his own and went back to standing at the door. Susan simply asked, "What do you want to know?"

Raynor simply said, "You say you're from Earth. Let's start there. Why are you out here?"

"We were brought here against our will, sir." Susan said.

"By who?" James asked.

"Not who...what." Susan said. "We truthfully haven't been in this system that long. We.."

There was silence before Raynor and Travis just looked at each other. "Raynor simply said, "Well?"

"I don't think you would understand or believe us, sir." Susan said.

"Try me." Raynor said.

There was some silence before James broke his silence, and said, "We're from the future. 48 years into the future to be exact."

Raynor cocked his head. "Okay. That's a first. Never really have had any experience with time travel, but I'll roll with it. Tell me of how you got here exactly."

"Where we're from," Susan said, "There is a terrible war going on between humanity, and an alien race known as the Covanent."

Raynor shook his head. "Never heard of them, and to be honest, would rather not know them. I know too many alien races already."

"Well, the Covanent deemed humanity deemed us an...'affront' to their gods, and have since declared holy war on us."

"Okay..." Raynor said. "Also a first. Not familiar with holy war between aliens and humans."

"Humanity as we know it," Susan said, "Is quickly diminishing. We're fighting a losing war. The Covanent are technologically advanced, and are burning our worlds, one planet at a time. We had just been fighting a battle in orbit of a planet called Reach when we were suddenly transferred here by something, my commanding officer only called a 'strange happening.' Our ships upon arrival here were badly damaged, and we were sent to the planet's surface to try and find resources that would repair our ship. It wasn't long afterwards that we lost contact with our ships, the _Hammer_ and the _Redwall_ and we encountered the Zerg."

Raynor put his coffee on the table. He looked somewhat in thought and said, "Before the Zerg appeared, one of my men picked up two ships in orbit of the planet. He said their signatures were unknown. About an hour later, seven Dominion ships surrounded those two ships, and we haven't seen those signatures since. Ask me, your ships were either captured, or destroyed. But knowing Mengsk, he will likely take to these ships with keen interest. I don't know what to say there."

"Sir," Susan said, "It is very much essential that we find out what happened to them soon. We need to get back home. Our people need us. If you are at all aware of a way to get home to our time..."

Raynor just looked at the sergeant with a rather amused look. 'Sergeant, as much as I would love to help you get home, I have my own plate full of affairs. With the return of he Zerg, humanity here is once again in the middle of a war within a war. Our revolution against the Dominion just got that much harder. Mengsk has already abandoned the fringe worlds to fend for themselves against the Zerg, leaving us to take care of them ourselves. And God only knows what new surprises the Zerg got in store for us. I'm sorry, but reconnecting with your ships right now...isn't high on my to do list. I don't even know where to start looking."

There was silence for a little before James asked Raynor, "What was that thing the news reporter called, the 'Queen of Blades'?"

At the question, Raynor simply looked down. He didn't answer. Travis simply said, "Some questions are better left unanswered son. Especially ones about her."

Raynor however said, "If they're going to stay with us for a while, they need to be brought up to speed. Her real name is Kerrigan. And all I can say about her to you, is that she is Hell unleashed. And quite frankly...that's all I really want to say about her right now."

Susan spoke up. "You say you're in a revolution against a Dominion."

Raynor nodded. "The Terran Dominion, headed by Emperor Arcturus Mengsk." The way he said the name gave James a feeling Raynor had a personal score to settle with Mengsk. He said nothing. "We've been fighting him for about four years now."

"Begging your full pardon, sir," Susan said, "But is Mengsk allied with the Zerg?"

"Well I should definitely hope not." Raynor said. "But with what happened four years ago, I doubt there's any alliance."

"Then with the rise of a common enemy, wouldn't it make sense for you and the Dominion to join forces against this enemy?"

There was silence. Raynor loked to Susan, "The last time that happened, good people died. The last time I was truly alliance with Mengsk, new threats rose that are around to this very day. As good an idea it may sound to you, Mengsk is not one to look upon lightly. I hope with your time here...you begin to see that..."

There was a beep on a nearby comm device. "Uh, sir?" Matt's voice came in"

Raynor hit a nearby button to the device. "What is it, Matt?"

"Sorry to interrupt, sir, but I'm picking up a distress signal from the Agrian colonies."

"I'll be right there." Raynor said. "I think we're pretty much done here anyway."

With that, he shut the comm device off. He looked to Travis. "Sounds like we may be doing some rescue work early. I'd get your squad ready, Travis."

Travis smiled and said, "Will do, sir."

Raynor then looked to James and Susan. "I don't know what your plans are, but I guess you're both good in a fight. Depending what Agria has thrown at them, we could use your help."

Susan was silent before we said, "We have nothing else to do. Perhaps if we stick with you, we may come across our superiors and ships. Maybe even a way home."

"Welcome to Raynor's Raiders then." Raynor said. "You two can follow me to the bridge. And we'll investigate what's going on with Agria. Thrasher, you may have some new recruits in your squad."

Travis nodded, smiling. "You know how we like new recruits. We'll be ready soon.


	5. Evacuation of Agria

A couple hours passed. Travis had met with his team and had been successful in getting them all. One was getting ready in the hangar with Swann, getting himself ready in some new equipment Swann had managed to get his hands on. The others, much to his surprise, were in the ship's cantina, playing poker with three of the newest guests on the ship. The troopers, who called themselves ODSTs or Helljumpers, introduced themselves as Jason Carter, Carrissa Kitts, and Thom Jacobs. They were playing cards with three of his squad men.

Travis, though not formerly an officer in Raynor's staff, was an effective leader, and Raynor knew it. Though he and Travis did not share close bonds as he did with other people in his life such as Matt Horner, or a reporter named Michael Liberty, Raynor and him were close enough, and Raynor had at multiple times in their time together, had wanted to promote Travis to an officer rank. Each one, he had politely refused. Yet with each refusal, the requests kept coming. Raynor almost treated him with the officer respect as he did with Horner. Travis would take as many bullets as he could for his commander. They had shared deep and very personal stories with each other before, and sometimes, Raynor wasn't so different from Travis. Sure they coped with problems differently, but Travis had followed Raynor into the mouth of Hell and back before. He would do it again.

Travis normally lead a squad of five soldiers, including himself. The three he found with the Helljumpers were soldiers by the name of Thomas McCarvey, Roberto Gonzalez, and Parker Bourne. The Jason guy would likely get along well with Thomas...or go for his neck. Thomas had a rather big mouth himself, though he was also the practical joker of the Raiders. Only he and another squad member alive to this day knew Travis for as long as he had. A former Son of Korhal, he had a twin brother by the name of Stan. The two were inseparable bastards. Travis smiled at the memories as he walked down the hall. Stan however, was among the many Mengsk left behind on Tarsonis as soon as the Zerg overwhelmed the planet. It wasn't soon afterward that Thomas and Travis left with Raynor. Thomas was devastated for the next couple weeks, but Travis did his best to comfort the surviving brother. And now it was almost like his brother's death had never happened. He was laughing, pulling corny humor out of his ass, and still sucked ass at Poker. Though Thomas would never be the same again, Travis knew. The countless packs of cigarettes Thomas went through a day said that.

Roberto then came into the squad, and almost brought the memories of Stan back into the squad. He also had some humor to pull on other soldiers. Though it was more direct at the soldiers in playful taunts. Though most soldiers blew it off. Hell, sometimes other soldiers didn't know what the hell he said since Roberto had a heavy accent. Even when cut off from Earth, the language barriers came with. Travis certainly didn't mind. At least Roberto knew how to follow orders.

The third member he ran into in the cantina, was the quiet one, and the newest one...well at least until these troopers appeared. Parker Bourne. The James guy that was on the bridge reminded him a lot of Parker. They were both not so talkative. Hell, Parker amazed Travis sometimes. He was quick, agile, and a smart thinker. And his aim with the canister rifle was nothing short of amazing. Travis liked the canister rifle himself, but could not at all match the excellence of the young sniper. Travis saw huge potential in the young guy. Perhaps soon, Travis would be calling him, "Sir" someday.

Travis entered the bridge, and Raynor turned his attention to him. The blue and green planet of Agria was outside the ship's window, and the leaders of the ODST troopers stood with him. "What's going on, commander?"

Not the most formal way t o greet his superior...but Raynor didn't mind. They knew each other and trusted each other well enough to the point where the formalities weren't too important.

"Not too much, Travis. Just a repeating distress call."

Raynor pressed a button, and an audio transmission began to play. It was heavily distorted with static, but understandable. "...any ship receiving this transmission...the Zerg are invading Agria...the Dominion has abandoned us here...we're...farming colony...we've got to evacuate before we're overrun. If you...hear us...please help us!"

As the ship got closer, James looked to Travis. "Try and open up a channel with them. Hopefully their still alive down there."

Travis nodded and with a press of a few buttons to one of the consoles, he got good news. "Incoming transmission, sir."

"Patch it through." Raynor said.

On a nearby screen, a woman who appeared to maybe be in her late 30's appeared. She had dark brown hair and glasses. She spoke up, rather confidently and relieved as if she knew who the commander was. "Thank you so much for responding to our distress call, Commander. I'm Dr. Ariel Hanson, and I represent the people of the Agria Colony."

Raynor nodded. "Pleasure to meet ya' Doc. You can call me Jim. What's the situation?"

"The Zerg have overwhelmed our planetary defenses," she replied in some sorrow and urgency. "The colony is lost! For the past twelve hours, we've been evacuating people to the nearest starports, but the Zerg attacks have been so intense, we can't get any more through. We are low on defense options, and can no longer defend the highways to reach the starports. Can you help us?"

"Don't worry, Doc. We'll get your folks through to the starports safe and sound." Raynor said.

"You have my thanks, Commander." Hanson replied, and I pray you're right. The Zerg are more terrible than I ever imagined..."

"We'll send our troops your way shortly. See you then." With that, the transmission turned to Travis. "We're gonna start off small as to not attract the attention of the Zerg. Your squad is going in. They ready?"

"I sure hope so. Found them a couple hours back in the cantina and told them to be ready. All should be good."

"Good. We'll join you down there soon, but get us a secure area to set up a forward command. We'll drop you in this sector," he said pulling up a map, "Outside the colony. Meet up with Dr. Hanson, and activate a beacon to signal when you're ready for us. Don't take too long Travis."

"I haven't disappointed you yet, sir...I hope."

Raynor chuckled and said. "Oh, care to take our new friends with you?"

Travis, who was about to exit the bridge turned back. "The Helljumpers?"

Raynor nodded. "Yeah, them and their Spartan friend here."

Travis raised an eyebrow. "Spartan? They just keep giving better names to troopers now these days. I certainly wouldn't mind sir, but we are short on CMC models. I know against the Zerg, almost any armor can be useless, but any protection is better than no protection. They will be unprotected, and even if there is spar armor on the planet's surface, they have absolutely no training with it."

"Point taken, Travis." Raynor replied. "But we've all fought the Zerg without armor at least once without armor in our lives. You may need more than just your normal squad here, and if I remember right, you witnessed them in battle. You said they were very formidable fighters, even without armor."

Travis said nothing. He looked to Susan. "Is your team aware of the risks?"

Susan stepped forward, "Sir, until we make any contact with our ships, we are yours to command. And perhaps someone down there may by chance know of something involving our ships."

Travis nodded. "I won't refuse extra help, but there's no need to call me 'sir.' If you'll both follow me to the hangar, hopefully everyone has made their way down there by now."

* * *

The hike to the Agrian colony in question would not take more than ten minutes, but where they had been dropped, wasn't exactly in the friendly zone. As they were dropped off, the Helljumpers took point, followed by James. Travis would follow immediately in his dark navy blue CMC Armor, and The three squad-members would follow. Thomas' visor slid up. "Dang...look at this place..."

"All the more reason for us to speed up this mission. Let's not waste time here, people. Let's find the colony, and get some reinforcements down here. Thomas, take point."

"You got it, boss." Thomas said moving ahead. James watched as the large marine took point, his gauss rifle at the ready.

James followed the marine, his own rifle at the ready. He did not have his Assault rifle, as much as he wanted to take it. He had no access to an armory, and these humans used different weapons, and did not have the ammunition he would need. Travis had suggested the possibility of them being able to try and make the proper ammunition for it, but for now, James was rolling with a weapon, Travis called an AGR-14 Rifle. Some of the ODST troopers held to their weapons, but a couple also had the AGR rifles. However, Roberto, Travis, and Thomas had much larger weapons called C-14 Gauss Rifles.

Travis, on the way down, had explained to the group that he expressed concerns for their safety because of their lack of combat armor. He would try and get...at least the ODSTs in training with it, since James was reluctant to leave his own armor. He also explained that due to the extreme recoil from the C-14s, they would actually NEED the armor if they wanted to handle weapons like the C-14s. The only marine who carried anything different, was Parker, who also carried an AGR.

A few minutes in, Travis spoke up, "Picking up anything?"

"Nothing yet, boss." Thomas spoke. "Deader than winter out he- wait."

James could hear the urgency in Travis' voice that followed that "wait" "What's up Thomas?"

"I've got movement at...oh shit they're right below us!"

At that moment, two Zerglings rose from the ground. James had almost forgotten how the Zerg had burrowing capability, and easily possessed the element of surprise. Thomas and Roberto fired into one of the zerglings killing it almost instantly, while, the latter of the zerglings, James gave a nasty punch to the head after it rose not two feet away from him. Thomas saw the punch and his eyes widened.

"Jesus Christ, man." he said as the Zerg fell dead. "I have never seen a punch as fast as that...let alone a punch that took a zergs brain from it's skull!"

"Cut the chatter Thomas." Travis said.

"Sir, did you fuckin' see that?" Thomas said. "I'm just saying, you know...glad he's on our side-"

"Keep talking man, and I'll make sure you're next." Jason said.

"Shut up." Thomas replied.

"Guys, come on, focus. If there's two here, there's gotta be more up ahead. How far away is the town?" Travis asked.

Roberto spoke up. "I'm picking up it's signal. We're close..."

Close was right. A couple more turns on the road, there it was. The colony looked empty. Though, Travis said, "I'm picking up sentry militia. Likely people to warn of an oncoming...anyone else picking up the signatures I'm reading?"

James said nothing. Toran in his mind said, "Yeah...you bet you're picking them up, James. I'm reading almost 30 Zerg signatures, bearing down fast!"

James spoke up, "According to Toran, we've got almost thirty signatures bearing on our location!"

"Dammit!" Travis said under his breath. "We're outgunned...again! Get to the colony! We'll defend from there! Double time! Run and don't look back!"The group began to run for the colony. About thirty seconds into the run, James looked up. The sentry militia had begun to fire their weapons, not at them, but behind them. He was starting to hear the angry cries and battle-thirsty hisses of the monsters behind them. Thankfully however, they easily made the colony defense, and upon doing that, automated defense turrets began to fire at the oncoming horde. Toran however spoke up, "I'm picking up another skirmish of Zerg. Estimated time of arrival, twelve seconds."

As the squad kept firing into the colony, Travis shouted into his comm. "Gordon, where the Hell are you?! We could certainly use your help here!"

"Hang on, cowboy!" James heard a new voice say. At that moment two ships flew overhead firing a few missiles into the Zerg horde. Though it didn't kill all of them, the missiles took out a decent amount. And a dropship came in, unloading five more large soldiers. However three of them wore armor, much bulkier than the Marine armor. One of them, a dark-skined man, smiled and held up his weapon. He approached the frontline, as a few zerglings ran his way. "Sorry for the delay." As soon as he said that, his weapon lit up and the three zerglings that were running his way fell to the ground enveloped in flame. The other two bulky soldiers joined his side doing the same to any zerg that got too close. One of the marines that had joined them fell dead as Hydralisk spines met his visor, but the other joined the front lines. As soon as the Zerg wave was halted, Travis' visor went up. He looked to the dark-skinned trooper that had joined them with a big smile. "Good to see you."

"Wouldn't miss it." the darker soldier said.

Thomas spoke up. "Nice show there, Gordan! Never late for the barbeque!"

Gordan let out a soft chuckle. "Just as long as you have my Poker money, it's good to see you as well Thomas."

One of the colony militia approached Travis, and asked, "Are you Raynor's men?"

"That's correct, soldier. If Dr. Hanson is around I would like to speak with her. We'll have reinforcements coming our way shortly, but I need to make sure we got an "all green" before we just send our help down. Better safe than sorry, and Raynor would rather not have his rebellion overwhelmed too early now."

"Yes, sir. Follow me."

Travis nodded, "Boys and girls, let's go."

Jason was about to start walking when he almost ran into the larger dark-skinned trooper named Gordan.

"Whoa, easy now, little man." Gordan said. He sounded to be in his early fifties, but if he was, his battle strength had yet to leave him.

Jason was about to reply, when Susan just said, "Jason, save it for later."

Gordan looked to Travis as they walked. "Who are the new guys?"

Travis chuckled. "Helljumpers and Spartan...meet Gordan Mustaine. My closest friend, and the finest man in Poker"

Gordan Mustaine. The man was larger than Travis, and much more fierce looking. Though behind that face, James could see a very caring man. One whom Travis obviously held high and close respect for. His weapon was large and connected to a large pack on the back of his armor. Obviously a flamethrower of some sort. Though it greatly differed from Earth designs. "That flamethrower is not like you average flamethrower." Toran spoke up. "It's flame is plasma based."

"Plasma based?" "Yes." Toran said. Not even the flamethrowers back home are as advanced. Heck, even the UNSC isn't comfortable with the current models they have. A wise UNSC soldier once said, 'It takes a real lunatic to use a flamethrower.' The risks can still be here on this model, but these flamethrowers...I've never seen anything like them!"

They continued toward a huge building, and as they approached, a woman in a white lab coat came out in a rush. "Thank goodness you're here!"

"Pleasure to help, ma'am, but our numbers are still few. If you could activate your command center's beacon, we'll get more help from the Hyperion."

"Of course." She then radioed for the beacon to be activated. As soon as that happened, Travis received an acknowledgment from above. Five minutes later eight dropships came in. Dropping off more marines, firebats, and Raynor with his Tychus partner.

He stepped out of the ship and asked, "What's going on, Doc?"

"We're getting ready right now to evacuate some civilians to the starports about a half a mile north of here."

Raynor nodded. "We'll have to escort them all the way to the starports for them to have a chance of escaping this planet. How soon will the next escort leave?"

Hanson replied. "The first attempt will leave from Lark's Crossing in about five minutes."

"Right." Raynor said. He turned to Travis. "Your squad will escort the first caravan up. Dr. Hanson and I will remain behind to help organize the other caravans. When you reach the starports, contact me for orders, get me?"

"Got you, sir." Travis said. He then left to join his squad near a small line of what looked to James, like oversized moving vans. There were about five fans in all, and each held about 25 people. They took about ten minutes to load them up to capacity and as soon as they were up to capacity, Travis said to his squad and to other marines that were with him, "Let's get moving. We got a long road to cover, zerg to kill, and a lot of ground support, so drivers, easy on the gas. We can't defend you if you're going too fast. Let's get moving!"

Suffice to say the first trip was a bit uneventful for the first ten minutes. James kept ahead of the group as scout. He didn't mind. As he went up the road, he came cross a couple man-made shelters.

"They appear to be bunkers of some sort." Toran said. "I'll try and alert Raynor."

James nodded as Toran cleared his throat. He was an AI, but AI, being compromised of very human-like characteristics, did some strange things sometimes. "Commander Raynor, this is Toran."

Raynor's voice came in on the other end. "I'm gonna have to get used to a computer talking to me. What you got?"

"I'll send you a picture of what James and I are seeing. Perhaps they may be of use to us..."

A few seconds went by and Raynor spoke up. "Dominion bunkers. Are they manned?"

"Negative commander. I'm picking up no life signatures inside."

"Someone had the right idea building bunkers to defend the roads...but why are they empty?"

Hanson spoke up through the channel, "The Dominion military abandoned them when the Zerg attacked. They didn't give a damn about the colony."

"Sorry to hear that, Doc. At the very least, the bunkers are in a good spot. I'll see if I can't send a few units to go man them. They may be effective in defending the caravans. Good find, James. Any activity to report?"

Toran spoke up. "Nothing so far, commander. It's been quiet out- picking up Zerg signatures to t he west!"

It was about that time, when they heard Travis' voice on the comm say, "The convoy's in danger! Give them hell, boys!"

James then ran back to the convoy, his AGR loaded and ready to fire. He ran to a cliff ledge and fired into a couple zerglings, killing them. He also brought down a nearby Hydralisk. He leaped off the small cliff and gave a hard kick to another nearby hydralisk. A move he would almost regret doing. The hydralisk was more durable than the delicate zerglings, and after it recovered from the kicks, James almost found himself impaled by the scythe-like arms. Thankfully, Travis filled the creature's shielded head full of bullets as the rest of the party finished off the small attack party.

"Any casualties?" Travis asked.

"Negative, boss." Thomas spoke up.

Travis looked to the Spartan, "You got guts kid, but too much gut will get you killed. Next time, I may not be there to save you from every zerg you decide to kick. You're no good to these colonists dead. Understand?"

James gave a small nod, "Understood, sir."

Travis gave a small smile and patted the Spartan on the back. "No need for the 'sirs'. Let's get these people to safety."

The rest of the trip was rather uneventful, and after Travis gave Raynor the news that the caravan had been successfully escorted, Raynor gave Travis a new mission.

"We're about to send up two more caravans. This is a risky move, but we're running out of time."

Tychus' gravely voice spoke. "It's a long haul to the starports, partner. How can we be expected to guard the whole thing?"

You and I, Tychus will be part of a mobile force like the one Travis just led. Our force should be strong enough for both of them. But as a safety measure, Travis, take your squad down to those bunkers, and set up down there. As we pass, cover our six. When we're done there, we'll head back to base and evacuate the rest of the colonists. Everyone get it?"

"Understood." Travis said. "See you shortly."

With that, he switched off his comm, and spoke up. "All right guys pack up and let's head for those bunkers. We'll meet with Raynor's squad there."

Manning the bunkers was no hard task, and most ODST troopers went in. The bunkers would shield them from any spikes the hydralisks. Though they would have to be careful. Bunkers were great protection, but careless marines could see their bunkers overwhelmed in seconds, and then bunkers were nothing more than death traps. The zerg were easily capable of tearing through the thick steel the bunkers offered as protection. The ODSTs would have to keep their heads about.

Parker was with James above. Parker, also silent, looked through the scope of his rifle. "Anything?" James asked.

Parker shook his head. "Nothing." Parker was in lighter armor than the others of the squad were. Originally one could have mistaken him for a Terran ghost, but Parker was no Ghost. He just preferred lighter armor. Something Travis wasn't always comfortable with, but respected the young private's decisions. Parker spoke to Travis on his unit, "The convoy move out yet?"

"That's an affirmative, Parker. They should be in visual range in about five minutes."

"10-4." Parker said.

"What about you?" Travis asked. "Any Zerg movement?"

Parker waited about five seconds as he scoped the land.

"...yes. I'm picking up a wave of Zerg bearing on our position."

"Got it." Travis said. "Lock and load, we got company!"

* * *

Meanwhile Raynor and Tychus were trudging with the convoy. Tychus was picking up the rear as Raynor escorted around the middle sections of the convoy.

"It's too quiet for me, partner." Tychus said. "And I'm not picking up anything on the sensors."

"Keep your guard up. We know they're out there somewhere. They'll come."

Matt Horner, who was still on the _Hyperion_, then spoke through a comm channel. "Sir, w just detected Zerg organisms entering the upper atmosphere. I can't give you an exact fix, but they're heading your way."

_"Great..."_ Raynor thought to himself. He punched a button near his visor. "Travis did you get that?"

"Get what, sir?"

"Airbound Zerg are heading our way. Keep your head about."

We're getting hit hard, sir. I've suffered two casualties. How far out are you?"

"We should be with you shortly. Hang in there."Travis chuckled. "I've heard that one before, and will hear it again."

Back at bunkers, Travis fired through a bunker hole right next to Susan and Thom. Thom kept firing his battle rifle. Travis looked at him. Thom's anxiety was getting to him. He looked like he was trying too hard to hit a Zerg body with his weapon. Travis spoke up, "Easy now, son. N o point in wasting ammo. Focus your aim, and-"

"Travis, just let me fire my damn gun!" Thom spoke. Susan heard him, but said nothing. Travis just looked at him. "Right. Keep firing then. But please don't allow any of these Zerg to tear into our bunker."

It was then that James spoke up through the comm. "Travis, I am seeing several winged Zerg. They are coming in fast!"

"The Zerg air reinforcements are back. Mutalisks most likely. Do what you can to take a few down if you can. Don't get over-cocky. Mutalisks are one thing you don't want shooting at you."

The mutalisks flew overhead, shrieking. One fired down on the bunker. Travis saw the projectile. He grabbed Susan and Thom, and shouted, "Down!" He dove with them, and the projectile ripped through the steel. The projectile secreted some form of acid and as it tore through the bunker, the acid wore away the thick plating. "Okay...time to leave! Let's go!"

As he exited the bunker, with Susan and Thom in tow, he was thankful to see the caravan, shooting up at the mutalisks. three bodies littered the ground. As soon as the mutalisks were driven away by the suppressed gunfire, and the zerg ground attack wave was nothing more than a skirmish that was easily dealt with, the convoy resumed. James and Parker rejoined the group, having both taken high positions for sentry when with the bunkers.

Both bunkers were now unusable hulks of torn scrap metal.

Toran simply said, "Well that could have been worse."

And it could have been, as the rest of the trip like the last was rather uneventful. They were unloading civilians out of the large fans however, and sending full transports away, when Dr. Hanson sent them a message. "I'm detecting a large wave of Zerg coming in our direction! Commander, we need to get the rest of the colonists out, now!"

Raynor swore. "We'll be there soon, Doc. Hang in there."

Travis and the others finished unloading one of the large vans as Raynor approached them. "We need to get back to the colony immediately. We've run out of time. We need to get everyone out, and get ourselves out of here while we still can."

"Then let's get moving back to the colony, partner" Tychus said. "The way we just fought off that last wave, I'd say even the Zerg will take time to regroup."

"I would hope so, Tychus." Raynor said. "But we're not taking anymore chances. Let's get moving back to the colony..."

* * *

The escort of the last convoy, like the others, started quiet, like the others. But not five minutes into it, Horner warned the team again, "Sir, I'm picking up seismic disturbances closing in on your position. I think it's some kind of tunneling Zerg..."

Toran also seemed to pick it up. "He's right. Though I can't see exactly what, there's something moving below us...and whatever it is...it's big."

"Wonderful, it's just like them to keep things nice and interesting."

At that, the ground shook slightly and a deep roar was heard. James turned to his right. Rising into the air was the head of a huge monster. And what was even more scary, was the fact that those Hydralisks and Zerglings were coming _out_ of its mouth. Was that where they came from? Did this monster birth these things?!

Raynor swore and said, "Nydus Worms. Defend yourselves, but try and take out that worm! They'll be cut off easier that way!"

With that, James began to fire into the Worm's head. The Hydralisks and Zerglings were mainly killed by the marines. James then came up with a plan. He tapped a marine on the shoulder who was fighting off the Zerglings. James pointed to a place on the worm. "Fire your weapon into the creature under his eye in the soft area of flesh..."

The marine, unsure of what that would do, complied anyway. As he did so, James took out a grenade. Toran saw what he was about to do and said, "I do hope you remember that you're now the only one alive in this armor..."

James ignored him and began to ran. The marine's bullets ripped into the worm's flesh and made a deep enough hole for James' plan. As he ran he battered a couple Zerglings out of the way. Thankfully the Zerg did not seem to pay too much attention to the lone soldier. He got to the base of the neck where the wound was, and with a punch of all his might, he forced the grenade in deep. He then dove out of the way as far as he could before it detonated. The worm shrieked and fell back underground. The marines just looked at James. James simply smiled and said, "You're one reckless son of a bitch, James, but you got some guts. Nice job. Let's finish our job here, and..."

"Sir! They're coming up on your six!" Horner said urgently.

"Dammit!" Raynor said. "We don't have the manpower to take on an entire zerg horde.

Some of the colony militia spoke up. "Sir, get the civilians out of here. We'll try and hold them back. We were gonna have to stay behind anyway to make sure the transports got away safely..."

James said nothing. These soldiers were willing to sacrifice themselves to an army of unforgiving monsters so that others could live. He couldn't say there weren't similar actions during the Human-Covanent War, but it didn't make it any easier to take.

Raynor was silent, then said, "Are you sure?"

"Go sir." one of the marines said. "We'll buy all the time we can."

Raynor nodded. "Good luck." He then spoke up. "Let's get a move on! Double time!"

The caravan then moved rather faster. And the extra speed was good to have, because two minutes later, the starports came into view. And though as they began to unload civilians into the transports, the Zerg did come, the starport's automated defense systems bought them a lot of time as well. The Raiders joined the civilians on the very last transport and Raynor shouted, "That's the last of them! Go! Lift off now!"

And the ships began to start up and leave. James watched out the closing hangar door as they took off, several thousand Zerg overwhelm the starports, and many air Zerg take to the horizon. These things were everywhere. It was nothing like the Human-Covanent War... It was worse. These things were just too numerous. Would they ever get home? Or win this war?

Hanson joined Raynor as they too watched the destruction fade into the distance. "We lost the colony...but my people got out alive, thanks to you Commander."

"All in a days work..." Raynor said softly as they entered the atmosphere, into the safety area of the _Hyperion.._


End file.
